Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the Government of Jordan’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at B1, and maintained a stable outlook on expectations that public debt will decline.
“The stable outlook balances Moody’s view that Jordan’s planned fiscal reforms will set the government’s elevated debt-to-GDP ratio on a gradually declining path in the next few years, against the risk [of] weak growth and high unemployment,” the rating agency said in a report on Friday.
The aforementioned risks could cause delays or partial reversal of the government’s fiscal consolidation strategy, Moody’s added.
The stable outlook reflects better prospects for growth in merchandise exports and tourism receipts due to the improving security situation in Syria and Iraq.
At the same time, higher oil prices and rising global interest rates create external liquidity pressures and balance of payments issues for Jordan and weigh on its overall outlook, the report said.
In June, the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia extended a $2.5 billion aid package to Jordan to help stabilise its economy amid record debt levels and unemployment, which stands at 18.7 per cent of the population, according to Moody’s.
External debt is at around 72 per cent of GDP, and the country has seen only modest growth, of around 2 per cent in 2017, Moody’s said. Earlier in the year, Jordan suffered its biggest protests in years, prompted by price hikes, subsidy cuts and other fiscal measures taken by the government to reduce debt.
The package from the Arabian Gulf allies includes a deposit to the central bank, annual budget support for five years and a combined $600m in credit guarantees to help Jordan secure World Bank financing for infrastructure projects and other development initiatives.
The decision to affirm Jordan’s B1 ratings, instead of upgrading them, reflects “credit challenges posed by an increasingly adverse global financing and trade environment, in the context of very large current account deficits and declining foreign exchange reserves, and rising domestic social pressures,” Moody’s report said.
However, it noted that the government’s fiscal consolidation measures, international commitment to support Jordan, and reforms of the sovereign’s energy sector and sourcing could reduce its vulnerability to higher oil prices.
__________
Read more:
UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agree $2.5bn aid package for Jordan
Jordanian king arrives for Saudi's GCC assistance summit
EU assures Jordan of continued aid
_________
A sustained downward trend in the government’s debt burden together with reduced sensitivity to increases in interest rates and a ramp up in regional trade would prompt Moody’s to upgrade the rating.
A faster decline in foreign exchange reserves than anticipated – particularly if it weakened the country’s position and made investors cautious – along with a further deterioration in domestic social pressures and weak growth, would lead to a downgrade. However, Moody’s “expects some further erosion of Jordan’s external buffers”, it said.
Jordan’s country ceilings were unchanged in the report on Friday. The foreign currency bond ceiling remains at Ba1/NP, the foreign currency deposit ceiling at B2, and the long-term local currency bond and deposit ceilings at Ba1.
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
SEMI-FINAL
Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20front-axle%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E218hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E330Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20touring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E402km%20(claimed)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh215%2C000%20(estimate)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Date: Sunday, November 25
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Match info:
Wolves 1
Boly (57')
Manchester City 1
Laporte (69')
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
RESULTS
6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Lady Snazz, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Rich And Famous, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Rio Angie, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB) Dh 92,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Kinver Edge, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
